Attached is the transcript for my playthrough of An Admirer.
transcript of an admirer.pdf (57.8 KB)
Another author who makes parsers I’ve been keeping an eye out for and enjoying- Amanda. Of course, when I saw that she was entering games into this competition, I knew I had to try them out right away- Amanda never fails to deliver on horror.
This game made me want to scrub all of my skin off. It perfectly nails the obsessive, dangerous fixation in the guise of love that accompanies stalker horror, and I absolutely loved the custom response when you prompt it to end the game- how whatever, whoever, is on the other side, doesn’t want to let you leave- wants you to want it, and to stay, just as badly.
The violence thrumming through this piece is genuinely terrifying. The ping-ponging back and forth between desire and hatred, whiplashing between idolatry and denigration- it’s a class act in riding that particular vein of obsession. As someone who’s lived through something not unsimilar to this- (though without the possible supernatural element to this, if you choose to interpret the ending threat in that light, ala creepypasta horror tropes-) this is a pitch perfect rendition of just how mortifying it is to have someone who wants to wear your skin.
If they can’t have you- then you just can’t be allowed to exist- the greed in wanting to devour them whole just to keep a part of them with you, in you- total domination and their subjugation to your will. It’s a sick power play. And damn, if it isn’t written well! This is cannibalistic horror that relies less so on the physicality of gore to turn your stomach, and more so employs the psychological distress that comes with being so desperately hungered for. The squicky parasitism and skinning is just icing on top of that perturbing desire.
I really liked it. Very seasonably frightening! Always a pleasure to play one of Amanda’s games- I always walk in knowing I’ll have a good time, and that’s always upheld.